Tiger Owl

Chapter 269 Painting cakes to satisfy hunger
"what?"

Cao Cao's face immediately darkened, and he asked unhappily, "What's going on?"

Jia Xu gave a wry smile and had no choice but to tell Cao Cao the whole story.

Cao Cao's expression softened slightly. "So, the sister of the Marquis of Wu fled to avoid a marriage alliance with Liu Bei?"

"That's right! It's been more than two months, and Lord Wu has been looking for her, but he still doesn't know her whereabouts."

Cao Cao was a little annoyed. The sister of the Marquis of Wu had an accident, her whereabouts were unknown, and her life or death was uncertain. What if something happened to her and her purity was defiled? Wouldn't that damage his own reputation?

"Then let's not agree to the marriage alliance with my son for now, but talk about how to fulfill the agreement. Sun Quan's two brothers must be sent to Ye City immediately."

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Jia Xu accepted the gold medal from Cao Cao, bowed, and took his leave.

With this gold medal, he could officially make decisions on behalf of Cao Cao. Cao Cao gave him the power of decision-making, which was a sign of his trust in him.

Jia Xu took a deep breath, and his brain began to work rapidly.

For more than a month, Sun Quan had been waiting for Cao Cao's envoy, but Cao Cao's envoy never arrived, and no one mentioned the marriage alliance with him. This made Sun Quan very uncomfortable, and he felt like he had been fooled.

However, his wife Xu Fen was not making a fuss. Perhaps even she knew that there would be no Cao family daughter to replace her, and she was at ease.

That morning, Zhang Zhao rushed to the official residence to report, "Lord Jia has arrived and requests to see Marquis Wu!"

Sun Quan nodded. "Alright, invite him to see me."

Half an hour later, Jia Xu was already seated in Sun Quan's office. Jia Xu smiled and said, "Prime Minister Cao has arrived in Hefei. Does Lord Wu know that?"

Sun Quan nodded. Of course he knew that Cao Cao had personally led an army of 200,000 to Hefei, but what was his destination? Sun Quan felt uneasy. Although he had signed a seven-year peace treaty with Cao Cao, would Cao Cao abide by it?
After a moment of silence, Sun Quan asked directly, "Does Prime Minister Cao intend to deploy these 200,000 troops directly to Liyang County?"

Jia Xu chuckled, "Lord Wu, you misunderstand. We have already signed an agreement, how could we possibly deploy troops in Liyang County?"

"Where will it be deployed?" Sun Quan did not believe Jia Xu's words.

Jia Xu pondered for a moment and then asked, "Does the Marquis of Wu know about the Battle of Queyue City?"

Sun Quan nodded. "I've heard about it!"

"That is Gan Ning's stronghold north of the Yangtze River, which poses a great threat to us. The Prime Minister has decided to eliminate it at all costs, so you will soon see our army move westward."

Sun Quan was taken aback. "Prime Minister Cao intends to personally attack Queyue City?"

Jia Xu said calmly, "Lord Wu, don't think that it's just a military city. Behind it is actually the full strength of Gan Ning's country. Gan Ning is continuously reinforcing Queyue City by water. Therefore, the Battle of Queyue City is our first battlefield against Gan Ning. Once we take Queyue City and severely damage Gan Ning, our army will head directly south to Yuzhang County."

Sun Quan pondered for a moment and then asked, "What is the purpose of Lord Jia's trip?"

Jia Xu took out the gold medal and said, "This is the Prime Minister's gold medal. I am here on a mission to Jiangdong and have the full authority to represent the Prime Minister. The purpose of my trip to Jiangdong is to implement the agreement we have signed."

Sun Quan's spirits lifted. "How do we implement this?"

Jia Xu then took out a copy of the agreement, placed it on the table, and said with a smile, "There are many terms to be implemented, and most of them are for me and Military Advisor Zhang to negotiate. I came to see Marquis Wu mainly to finalize the marriage alliance."

Sun Quan's heart skipped a beat; he had thought Cao Cao wasn't sincere!
"What did Prime Minister Cao say?" "Prime Minister Cao has decided to marry his seventh daughter, Cao Ya, to the Marquis of Wu. She is fifteen years old and has a stunning beauty. She is a perfect match for the Marquis of Wu. However, according to the Prime Minister's family rules, daughters must be sixteen years old before they can get married. Therefore, the seventh daughter will be officially sent to Jiangdong next January."

The idea that she should get married at sixteen was obviously made up by Jia Xu; he was just finding an excuse to delay it for a year.

But Sun Quan was unambiguous, nodding and saying, "The wedding date can be discussed, but how should the six rites be conducted?"

"Once this war ends and the Prime Minister returns to Ye City, the Marquis of Wu can send someone to propose marriage, and we will officially begin the six rites. We will take the final step next January."

Sun Quan nodded. There was indeed a saying that marriage should not be discussed during wartime.

Jia Xu continued, "Besides the marriage to the Marquis of Wu, my Prime Minister has also asked Young Master Zhi to propose marriage to the Marquis of Wu's sister. I wonder if the two sides can become even closer through marriage?"

The matter of his sister was brought up again, giving Sun Quan a headache. Just a few days ago, he had written to Liu Bei apologizing for canceling the marriage alliance. Now Cao Cao had come, and what was he supposed to say?
Sun Quan smiled wryly and said, "Didn't Wang Xiu tell Jia Gong about my sister?"

"I heard your younger sister is missing. Has she not been found yet?"

Sun Quan shook his head helplessly, "There is still no trace of her. There are rumors that my sister may have gone to a temple or Taoist monastery to become a nun. I am searching for her in temples and Taoist monasteries all over Jiangdong."

"He's become a monk?" Jia Xu frowned.

Sun Quan quickly explained, "It's just a rumor; whether it's true or not remains to be verified!"

Jia Xu nodded. "Alright! I was just expressing the Prime Minister's wishes. If your sister returns safely and unharmed, we can discuss the marriage alliance then."

Jia Xu emphasized the word "unharmed," implying that the sister of the Marquis of Wu must remain untainted and pure.

Sun Quan understood perfectly, and he nodded silently, "I will find my sister as soon as possible!"

Sun Ben finally received Cao Cao's secret order, allowing him to attack Jiangdong again.

Ever since Cao Cao ordered him to retreat after attacking Danyang County, Sun Ben had been holding a grudge. He had clearly captured Danyang County, but was forced to give it up in the end.

He was naturally very dissatisfied with Cao Cao, but despite his dissatisfaction, he dared not show it. For more than a year, he focused on training the army and strengthening its equipment. He sold a large amount of salt and made a huge profit, all of which was invested in the army's equipment.

The messenger who delivered the message to Sun Ben was none other than the strategist Xun You. Jia Xu was sent as an envoy to Jiangdong, while Xun You was sent as an envoy to Sun Ben.

In fact, Shouchun County, where Sun Ben lived, was very close to Hefei County; Xun You could reach it in a day.

Inside the VIP hall, Xun You took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "Prime Minister Cao is preparing to send 30,000 troops and 500 warships to aid you."

Sun Ben was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Are these 30,000 troops given to me directly, or..."

Xun You shook his head. "The 30,000 troops are just being used under your banner, but General Yue Jin is still in actual command. We have an agreement with Jiangdong, so we can't openly support you, we can only support you covertly. Does General Sun understand?"

Sun Ben was certainly aware that Cao Cao and Sun Quan had reached a seven-year non-aggression pact, and he supported this pact because it meant that only he could lead the army to attack Jiangdong, and Jiangdong would then be his own.

Sun Ben nodded and then asked, "When does Prime Minister Cao wish me to begin the attack?"

"Once Prime Minister Cao's army has established a foothold in Lujiang County, you can begin your attack. We will be responsible for containing Gan Ning and preventing him from supporting Jiangdong, so you must wait for our notification and cannot attack without authorization."

Sun Ben let out a long sigh of relief. "I understand!"

(End of this chapter)